The present invention relates to the field of structures used to support mailboxes, and more particularly to cross-member type mailbox posts.
Mailbox posts of the type having a vertical support member and a horizontal cross-member are in widespread use in rural and semi-rural areas. Thus mailbox posts are typically located immediately adjacent to a road or street, so that the mail delivery person in a vehicle can open the mailbox and collect and/or insert mail without getting out of the delivery vehicle. In order to facilitate this mail delivery procedure, U.S. Postal Service guidelines require that the mailbox be positioned at a height of 41 to 45 inches above the road/street surface.
Because of the proximity of the mailbox and post to the road, they are often damaged or detached by snowplowing—either by direct impact or by the pressure of snow pushed against them. During snow storms, therefore, it is useful to be able to adjust the mailbox post so that the mailbox is more out of the way of plows and roadside snow piles. The patent literature describes several types of post structure that can rotate horizontal or vertically to displace the mailbox from the path of snowplows. These designs have the disadvantage, however, of making the mailbox, after such displacement, inaccessible from the postal delivery vehicle.
The adjustable mailbox post of the present invention, on the other hand, allows the mailbox to be raised and lowered by a person seated in a motor vehicle at the roadside without getting out of the vehicle. During a snowstorm, the owner of the mailbox seated in his/her vehicle can raise its height out of the way of snowplows. After the snowplows have passed, the mail delivery person can lower the mailbox back to the proper height without leaving their vehicle.